Issue link: http://catalog.e-digitaleditions.com/i/693864
I n his third season at the helm, University of Iowa head rowing coach Andrew Carter saw the program take another step forward in 2015-16. e Hawkeyes established themselves nationally throughout the year, spending five weeks ranked in the Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association (CRCA)/US Rowing Coaches Poll — the team's first top 20 ranking since 2010 — and receiving votes for the rest of the season. With strong performances against elite programs throughout the season, Iowa set itself up to earn a potential NCAA Championships bid, a feat that has only been accomplished once in program history. e Hawkeyes needed to secure a fourth- place result at the Big Ten Championships to be considered, but fell shy of their goal in fih posi- tion. "I'm pleased by how things went this year," Carter said. "While I think it goes without saying that our entire team — students and staff alike — would have loved to nab an NCAA Championships bid, there is still much to celebrate this year." e Hawkeyes compiled 95 points at the Big Ten Championships, the second-highest score in pro- gram history and their best effort since 2009. e team's fih-place result is the highest finish since 2009. Following the regatta, seniors Beth Baus- tian (first team All-Big Ten Conference), Hannah Hawks (second team All-Big Ten), and Nina Hen- driks (Sportsmanship Award) were recognized. e accolades did not stop there: a total of seven Hawkeyes were recognized by the CRCA for their efforts on and off the water. Baustian was named first team All-Region, qualifying her for All-America consideration, while sophomore Izzy Dolba earned a second team All-Region nod. Five others were named CRCA Scholar Athletes. Brown was also honored with the Big Ten Medal of Honor and the Big Ten Postgraduate Scholar- ship. "As with any year, my emotions around seeing our student-athletes graduate and move on to the next stage are jumbled," Carter said. "is year is especially so. Our graduating seniors did an amaz- ing job for this program and their leadership was special. I hope we did as good of a job for them as they did for the University of Iowa." Carter, who returns a strong core and adds a well- rounded group of five signees to the program, is excited to see the team accomplish even more in 2016-17. "ere are some great personalities and talents arriving in August, so I'm sure they'll be adding to things straight away," Carter said. "We recruited them for that exact reason and I know we got it right. "Our year was one of Iowa's brightest, but our fu- ture is even brighter."